The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini comes in a dual-SIM version, just like its big sibling. But with the same chipset and same battery, we can expect lower talk time and standby, with the same web browsing and video playback times, right?

As it turns out, no. Looking at the specs sheet reveals no changes between the single and dual-SIM versions, but there’s potentially a new modem as the talk time went up.

In fact, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos is the best performing dual-SIM phone we’ve tested in this category. It beats the Galaxy Grand Duos by about 5 hours, even though the bigger handset has a 200mAh more in its battery. That Broadcom chipset just isn’t as efficient as the Qualcomm it seems. The HTC Desire 600 dual sim, which has the same battery capacity does even worse with just 12 of talk time.

Talk time

Huawei Ascend Mate25:12

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)21:18

LG Optimus G Pro20:45

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX20:24

Motorola RAZR i20:07

BlackBerry Q1020:00

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.319:54

Sony Xperia SP19:49

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)18:03

Sony Xperia ZR17:48

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos17:33

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710016:57

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active16:40

Sony Xperia Z16:03

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom15:32

LG Optimus G15:30

Sony Xperia ZL15:22

Nokia Lumia 72015:17

BlackBerry Q514:31

Huawei Ascend P614:17

Nokia Lumia 62014:17

Oppo Find 514:17

Google Nexus 414:17

HTC One13:38

HTC One X+13:31

Nokia Lumia 52013:33

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini13:10

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos12:45

LG Optimus GJ12:39

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE12:37

Huawei Ascend P112:30

Sony Xperia L12:30

HTC Butterfly12:18

Samsung Galaxy Note12:14

HTC One mini12:04

HTC Desire 600 dual sim11:58

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam11:58

Samsung Galaxy Premier11:30

Asus Padfone 211:20

HTC Droid DNA11:07

HTC Windows Phone 8X11:07

Samsung Wave 3 S860011:07

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus11:06

HTC Desire X11:03

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)11:01

HTC One X (AT&T, LTE)10:35

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:20

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)10:15

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 210:03

HTC One V10:00

Meizu MX 4-core10:00

Samsung Galaxy Express10:00

HTC One X9:57

HTC One S9:42

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R9:40

HTC Sensation XL9:30

Nokia Lumia 8109:05

Nokia Lumia 7109:05

Acer CloudMobile S5009:05

Motorola Atrix HD9:04

HTC Vivid9:02

Nokia Lumia 9208:56

Nokia Lumia 6108:51

HTC Rhyme8:48

Apple iPhone 58:42

LG Optimus 3D Max P7208:42

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V8:41

Meizu MX8:39

Samsung Galaxy S II8:35

Samsung Galaxy S Duos8:28

Nokia Lumia 8008:25

Samsung Galaxy Nexus8:23

Nokia Lumia 5108:22

Samsung Galaxy Fame8:21

BlackBerry Z108:20

HTC Desire V8:20

Samsung Captivate Glide8:20

Sony Xperia T8:15

HTC Rezound (LTE)8:10

Samsung Galaxy Note (LTE)8:02

LG Optimus Vu7:57

LG Optimus 4X HD7:41

Apple iPhone 4S7:41

Samsung i937 Focus S7:25

HTC Evo 4G LTE (LTE)7:21

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G7:14

Nokia Lumia 8207:09

Sony Xperia acro S7:09

Samsung Rugby Smart I8477:09

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro6:57

Nokia N96:57

HTC Radar6:53

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos6:53

BlackBerry Curve 93806:52

Sony Xperia E dual6:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini6:22

Samsung Galaxy Pocket5:54

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T (LTE)5:53

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:52

Sony Xperia P5:33

Nokia 808 PureView5:16

LG Nitro HD (LTE)5:16

HTC Titan II (LTE)5:10

BlackBerry Bold 97905:00

Pantech Burst4:46

The regular Galaxy S4 mini did great in the web browsing test and the Galaxy S4 mini duos repeats that achievement. There’s a small 20 minute difference, but it’s practically the same time. The Desire 600 dual sim and Galaxy Grand Duos don’t do as well (their slower chipsets had to work harder to render the page, not to mention the Grand Duos has a 5″ screen).

Web browsing

Sony Xperia ZR11:20

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos10:10

BlackBerry Q510:04

HTC One9:58

Apple iPhone 59:56

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini9:47

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)9:12

Apple iPad mini9:05

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom8:51

Samsung Galaxy Note II N71008:48

BlackBerry Q108:42

Nokia Lumia 8108:20

Asus Padfone 28:20

Huawei Ascend Mate8:17

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.38:17

HTC One mini8:12

Nokia Lumia 6108:01

HTC One X+7:56

Sony Xperia E dual7:42

Samsung Galaxy S III mini7:38

Nokia Lumia 7207:37

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active7:35

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)7:24

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX7:23

HTC Radar7:17

Nokia Lumia 5207:15

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE7:13

LG Optimus GJ7:11

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos7:09

Samsung Galaxy Express7:09

Motorola RAZR i7:06

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)6:58

Apple iPhone 4S6:56

HTC One V6:49

LG Optimus G Pro6:40

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus6:40

Sony Xperia L6:40

HTC Droid DNA6:40

Samsung Galaxy Premier6:40

Motorola Atrix HD6:40

BlackBerry Curve 93806:40

Sony Xperia Z6:37

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 26:35

HTC Desire 600 dual sim6:34

Huawei Ascend P66:30

BlackBerry Z106:27

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)6:27

HTC Butterfly6:24

Sony Xperia SP6:18

Samsung i937 Focus S6:15

Nokia Lumia 5106:13

Sony Xperia ZL6:04

HTC Windows Phone 8X6:01

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:56

Samsung Galaxy Fame5:55

Samsung Rugby Smart I8475:53

Pantech Burst5:51

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G5:45

HTC Desire V5:44

HTC Evo 4G LTE5:41

Nokia Lumia 9205:40

Samsung Wave 3 S86005:34

Oppo Find 55:33

Sony Xperia T5:33

Samsung Captivate Glide5:33

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam5:28

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE5:24

Samsung Galaxy S Duos5:23

HTC Sensation XL5:20

Meizu MX 4-core5:19

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III5:17

Sony Xperia acro S5:16

HTC Rezound5:16

HTC Desire X5:16

LG Optimus G5:15

HTC Rhyme5:08

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R5:07

HTC One X (AT&T)5:03

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro4:50

LG Optimus Vu4:49

HTC Vivid4:46

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos4:45

Meizu MX4:35

Google Nexus 44:34

Nokia N94:33

Acer CloudMobile S5004:32

Nokia Lumia 8204:24

Samsung Galaxy S II4:24

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V4:20

HTC One X4:18

Nokia 808 PureView4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P7204:10

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T4:10

Nokia Lumia 8004:07

HTC Titan II (LTE)4:05

HTC One S4:03

BlackBerry Bold 97904:02

LG Nitro HD4:00

LG Optimus 4X HD3:59

Sony Xperia P3:59

Nokia Lumia 7103:51

Nokia Lumia 6203:50

Samsung Galaxy Pocket3:47

Samsung Galaxy Note3:35

Huawei Ascend P13:23

Samsung Galaxy Nexus3:01

The video playback time of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos is once again within 20 minutes of the single-SIM version and once again on of the best scores we’ve seen. The S4 mini (both versions) performs great for a phone with just 1,900mAh in its battery.

Video playback

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)16:35

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX14:17

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini13:12

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos12:52

Apple iPad mini12:51

Samsung Galaxy Premier12:51

Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE12:32

Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)12:30

BlackBerry Q512:28

Huawei Ascend Mate12:18

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)11:29

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710011:27

BlackBerry Q1011:15

Apple iPhone 510:12

HTC One10:02

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:01

Samsung Galaxy Express10:00

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus10:00

Nokia 808 PureView9:53

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam9:42

Samsung Rugby Smart I8479:34

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom9:30

HTC One S9:28

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)9:27

Apple iPhone 4S9:24

HTC Evo 4G LTE9:07

BlackBerry Z108:44

LG Optimus G Pro8:40

Nokia N98:40

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.38:34

HTC Butterfly8:28

Samsung Galaxy Note8:25

LG Optimus GJ8:15

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos8:11

HTC One X+8:11

Motorola RAZR i8:11

Samsung Galaxy S II8:00

Samsung i937 Focus S7:55

Samsung Wave 3 S86007:52

Samsung Galaxy S III mini7:46

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V7:45

Asus Padfone 27:38

Huawei Ascend P17:38

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G7:33

Sony Xperia ZR7:30

HTC Droid DNA7:30

Samsung Galaxy Note LTE7:30

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 27:30

Sony Xperia SP7:27

HTC One mini7:23

Nokia Lumia 6107:23

LG Optimus G7:16

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active7:03

Huawei Ascend P66:55

HTC Desire 600 dual sim6:49

Nokia Lumia 7206:43

Meizu MX 4-core6:33

Nokia Lumia 6206:32

HTC Windows Phone 8X6:27

Sony Xperia E dual6:27

Nokia Lumia 8106:27

HTC Desire V6:26

HTC One X (AT&T)6:26

Nokia Lumia 8206:25

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos6:25

Nokia Lumia 5106:23

LG Optimus Vu6:23

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R6:21

Nokia Lumia 9206:19

HTC Sensation XL6:12

Samsung Galaxy Pocket6:06

Samsung Captivate Glide6:04

Sony Xperia ion LTE6:03

Samsung Galaxy Nexus6:02

Sony Xperia T6:01

Motorola Atrix HD6:01

HTC Vivid6:00

HTC Radar5:54

Nokia Lumia 8005:52

Nokia Lumia 5205:50

HTC Titan II5:50

BlackBerry Bold 97905:47

HTC One X5:45

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro5:44

Sony Xperia Z5:39

Sony Xperia acro S5:38

HTC Desire X5:38

Pantech Burst5:38

Sony Xperia ZL5:28

Meizu MX5:27

HTC Rhyme5:23

HTC One V5:20

Acer CloudMobile S5005:18

Oppo Find 55:18

Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T5:18

BlackBerry Curve 93805:09

HTC Rezound5:03

Samsung Galaxy Fame5:02

Google Nexus 44:55

Sony Xperia L4:44

Samsung Galaxy S Duos4:30

Sony Xperia P4:30

LG Nitro HD4:17

LG Optimus 4X HD4:14

LG Optimus 3D Max P7203:28

Nokia Lumia 7103:27

Despite having to keep two SIM card active, the Galaxy S4 mini duos has relatively low standby power draw, which combined with the better performance in the call test leads to an endurance rating of 62 hours, up from 54 hours for the single-SIM. You can read more about the battery test here.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 mini duos has surprisingly good battery life, among dual-SIMs and among minis. It will keep you talking over both SIM cards for a long time with extended browsing and video sessions in between calls.